Individuals

Being American is the greatest gift, the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I'd like America to be the great, bright light upon the hill. I'd like America to continue to inspire young fools like me and attract them...

I had no desire to leave Cuba and had never thought of coming to the United States. My parents thought it was a temporary decision for a few months or years, and then I’d be able to come back and be reunited. Of course, it didn't happen.

New immigrants coming to this magnificent country will continue to be its source of energy, diversity, optimism, passion, hope, and willingness to work hard and make the sacrifices needed to ensure a better America and a more sustainable earth for their children and generations to come.

More than any nation in the world, America is a nation shaped by immigration.... There is surely not one voice...it is a family of voices but with one face forming one great nation. America is what people decide they want it to be...and that is why I will stay.

I love this country, and that means I get mad when the country is not going in the right direction. No one gets as mad as an immigrant, I think, when they see their leaders misbehaving, because we are deeply invested in this miraculous place where everything is possible.

My first salon failed. I had a salon in Silver Spring [Maryland] before I met Dennis. But I never gave up. I knew that I could do this, and I think one thing that entrepreneurs have that takes them further is the fact that they don’t give up.

Only in America—only an American who was dedicated to the guiding principles of American democracy, could entrust his entire fortune to an immigrant—a Chinese woman immigrant! I'm just truly fortunate to have been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…

You know, my earliest recollection was a three-year-old in 1945 seeing American tanks roll in to Manila. I guess I always felt like I was American since then. And we were very lucky that we were able to come home to America.